Riddle “If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?”
The correct answer and explanation is:
Correct Answer: 5 minutes
To solve this riddle, start by understanding the rate at which the machines produce widgets. The key idea is that the number of machines and the number of widgets are directly related through time, assuming each machine works at the same constant rate.
If 5 machines take 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, then each machine makes 1 widget in 5 minutes. This is a constant production rate: each machine produces 1 widget per 5 minutes.
Now, suppose you have 100 machines working simultaneously, and each still produces 1 widget every 5 minutes. In 5 minutes, every machine will have made 1 widget. So 100 machines will produce 100 widgets in 5 minutes.
This type of problem often tricks people into thinking that making 100 widgets will take longer. That would be the case only if the number of machines remained constant. However, when the number of machines increases proportionally with the number of widgets, the time taken does not increase.
This riddle illustrates the concept of parallel processing. If multiple machines work at the same time independently, they divide the workload among themselves, reducing or maintaining the production time depending on the task.
The riddle also highlights the importance of understanding unit rates and scaling. The rate of one machine is the foundation of the solution. Once that is known, multiplying by the number of machines gives the total output over a fixed time.
In summary, 100 machines can make 100 widgets in 5 minutes because each machine contributes equally and independently. The production process is not sequential, but rather simultaneous. Therefore, the time remains the same.